In a file photo from July 31, 2012, Allison Schmitt celebrates with her gold medal after winning the women's 200 freestyle finals during the London Olympics. / Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

by Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS â?? It's unusual to see an Olympic champion fail to reach the finals in her top events. It's just as rare to compete in the B final after such disappointment.

Nine months after winning five medals, including three golds, at the London Olympics, Allison Schmitt found herself in a very unusual place -- in the consolation race. Schmitt missed the finals of the 100-meter freestyle and the 200 free, her signature event, the biggest shocker at this week's nationals. As a result, Schmitt failed to qualify for next month's world championships.

Coach Bob Bowman said Schmitt would bow out of Friday's 400 free and end her unforgettable week. "She hasn't trained very much," Bowman said. "I think she felt she wasn't ready and she wasn't and when you're like that and you're not ready, you get what we had (in the 200 free)." In the prelims, Schmitt finished 10th and won the B final.

Afterwards Schmitt asked Bowman if the root of her setback was mental. "You're not a head case," he told her. "Your body is not ready to do what you want it to do." Mentally fatigued and "physically not on her A game," as Bowman put it, Schmitt struggled.

After the Olympics, Schmitt returned to the University of Georgia with the hope of winning the national title. The Bulldogs had finished second behind the Cal Bears the previous two years. At the very same pool, the IUPUI Natatorium, Schmitt helped Georgia defeat Cal for the NCAA title in March.

"I honestly think Allison was very much taken aback by what it meant to be an Olympic champion," Bowman said. "I don't think she had any idea. She gets back to Georgia where usually she went about her life doing her thing. Anytime she went out, she had lines of people taking pictures and getting autographs. Everybody knew who she was all the time. That's a big change for anybody."

Even though she saw the unrelenting spotlight on Michael Phelps, her former training partner, Schmitt wasn't prepared.

U.S. teammates were surprised but supportive. "I can only hope to be half the 200 freestyler Schmitty is one day," said Missy Franklin, who won the event. "Honestly we all have those races. I know she raced her heart out, that's what swimming is all about and she's a great inspiration for that."